Create a habitat where innovation will thrive

So what does innovation really look like to client
organisations? Innovation is not to be confused with continuous service
improvement - it’s radical change rather than incremental change and is likely
to create business-wide benefits.

This was the view of senior IT outsourcing buyers who I
discussed this subject with recently at an innovation workshop, as part of my
role for the National Outsourcing Association. The attendees represented a good
cross section of industries and the event was very valuable in casting some
light on that stubbornly difficult to define aspect of outsourcing relationships: innovation.

One of the strongest messages to come out of the session was
that a transparent and collaborative relationship is needed between client and
service provider in order to create the environment in which innovation can
flourish. Service providers need to have a deep understanding of a client’s
business in order to innovate. Similarly, clients need to know their provider’s
business better than may be the norm.

Before you can begin to discuss innovation, providers and
clients need to have addressed such questions as, is this a strategic or
transactional relationship? Is this contract sufficiently profitable to allow
resources to be dedicated to innovation? Are we (clients and providers) prepared
to accept the potential risk and cost implications of delivering innovation?
Clearly, open and honest discussions are required.

Outsourcing buyers at the workshop also discussed tactics to
make innovation a reality, these included setting up regular innovation forums
where multiple service provider partners were invited to propose innovative
solutions for their business. This format was found to be effective because a
broad range of expertise could work to innovate – and natural competitive
instincts in such a setting no doubt have a positive effect too.

So what not to do? Even mature outsourcing buyers can create
barriers to innovation and common causes include assuming innovation will happen
without their input, not allowing service providers to get close to their
business and communicating a “we just want it cheap” message.

The bad news is that delivering innovation does require a
sustained investment of resources, the good news is that the outsourcing buyers
at the workshop could demonstrate, from personal experience, that the benefits
could be dramatically greater than the costs.

Microsoft has made an early version of Windows 10 - its next operating system - available for download. The OS promises better integration and harmonisation across platforms, including mobile and desktop.
Will your business be upgrading?

Popular Threads

There is a lot of attention being paid to how business leaders can use the mobile computing preferences of employees and customers to be more responsive, efficient and successful. This white paper runs through five security considerations for the mobile age.